Maru
Maru (丸, Maru, "Perfection") is a kitsune hanyo who was taken in and named by Inu no Taisho. She is the biological daughter of the Demon Lord of the Northern Lands, Inari, but she was thrown out and abandoned days after her birth. Inu no Taisho took in Maru, named her and raised her alongside his own son, Sesshomaru. She served under Inu no Taisho until his death. Her last order from her father figure was to watch over his lover and newborn son, Izayoi and Inuyasha. With these orders, she stayed with Inuyasha and Izayoi for many years until ten years after Izayoi's death when she was forced to leave Inuyasha for his safety. After leaving Inuyasha, Maru traveled through out Japan trying to escape her father. Maru is a beautiful hanyo with great power, she is often called Kitsune no Taisho (The Great Fox Demon) for her incredible strength and intelligence. She is usually a very calm and kind person unless faced with danger or an enemy. She often fights with Sesshomaru, finding him annoying she often prevokes him. She doesn't have a very opinion of the Inu yokai but dotes on his younger half brother, Inuyasha, treating Inuyasha like a mother would her own child. She is also a well known blacksmith. She is seen at Totosai's home one week out of every month, forging a multitude of weapons from demon fangs. Her fox magic is also well known for its strength and healing powers. Totosai often brags about the hanyo, gloating that she can bring back the dead and regenerate body parts. Appearance Hanyo Form Maru appears as beautiful yet frail-looking because of her small frame and stature yet is well built. She is fair-skinned with large fox ears and a fluffy tail, ice blue eyes and knee-length hair with neatly cut bangs covering her forehead and two pieces framing her which are bust-length. Her hair is said to be whiter than snow and her eyes a pale blue like that of a glacier. Many describe as an unrealistic beauty with fair skin and icy blue eyes. However, when in angered or her demon instinct rises her eyes change gold or red, depending on the situation. Most say her only hanyo characterisitc is her white fox ears and large fluffy tail, since she gives off the aura of a full blooded daiyokai and her scent is that of a daiyokai. Human Form Maru's human form is very similar to her hanyo form. Her hair changes to black and her eyes to brown. She remains fair-skinned but she loses her glow. In her human form her frailness is evident due to the lose of shine about her. Her fox ears and tail also disappear and are replaced with human ears. Outfit Maru is most often seen in royal blue hakamas, a white kimono, and a royal blue haori. She is almost always barefoot and carries a large scroll which contains the millions of weapons she has forged along side Totosai. She occassionally dresses in disguises to evade hunters and enjoys dressing up in kimono to attend festivals, when she can find a village that accepts hanyo. She is sometimes, rarely, seen wearing expensive silk kimonos. Most of her kimonos have elaborate designs and were given to her by Inu no Taisho as gifts and Inari as bribes. She has racked up quite a large fortune in kimonos, jewelry, and accessories. History She is the first daught of the Demon Lord of the Northern Lands, Inari, and his mate, a daihanyo. Because she was abandoned at a few days old, she despises her father and his newfound infatuation of her power. The Beginning Maru was born 500 years before the Inuyasha series, and was abandoned three days after her birth by a servant ordered by her father. She was discovered a few days later by Western Lord Inu no Taisho, who named her Maru because of her pure white hair and unbelimished skin, and took her in as his own, feeling sorry for the infant and seeing her as a playmate for his newborn son, Sesshomaru. She began training with Inu no Taisho at the age of two and became the best warrior out of all his servants by the age of four. She showed a high tolerance to pain, and the ability to pick up skills immediately. Her yokai powers began to develope very quickly and she learned to control and manipulate her powers like no other yokai child her age. She developed her fox magic very quickly and more advanced than most kitsune daiyokai. She was inseperable from Inu no Taisho, and would never leave his side unless ordered to. Inu no Taisho and Maru had a very strong bond due to the large amount of time they spent together and trusted each other with their lives. This is the most likely reason that he entrusted Sō'unga to her, and she is the only hanyo able to weild the corrupted sword. Death of Inu no Taisho The night of Inu no Taisho's death, Maru had been seperated from the demon during the earlier battle with Ryūkotsusei. She rushes to the inu daiyokai's side once catching wind of the battle insuing at Izayoi's castle, but only manages to arrive in time to evacuate Izayoi and Inuyasha before the burning castle collapsed. After the fire died down, she searched for her master finding him just barely alive. Upon finding her master she proceeded to heal him but was stopped by him. She was told to not waste her magic on him for it was his time. His last request to the hanyo was to watch over Izayoi and Inuyasha. Inu no Taisho also confessed that he loved the fox hanyo as his own daughter and hated to part with her. He tells her to continue growing stronger and to teach her sons well in his place before finally succumbing to his wounds. The devastated hanyo cried over the lose of the hanyo for a few moments before going to Izayoi and Inuyasha's side and taking them to shelter in a nearby village. She later returned to the castle and buried her master under a cherry blossom, where she would later bury Izayoi. Raising Inuyasha Maru spent many years with Inuyasha and Izayoi and ten years after her death helping raise the son of Inu no Taisho. Though Maru did accompany Izayoi in raising Inuyasha, Izayoi was left to raise her son for the most part while Maru provided for the two by forging weapons and hunting for their food. After Izayoi's death, Maru took on the role as Inuyasha's mother until hunters began threatening Inuyasha to retrieve her for Inari. Not wanting the child to be harmed, Maru left him apologizing for leaving him on his own, though this did not help with the tense relationship they developed from her leaving. Leaving Inuyasha caused Maru great pain since she'd developed a close relationship with him but knowing it was for him she managed, which leads to her traveling throughout Japan to avoid her father. Inuyasha Series Maru doesn't appear much in the series but occassionally showed up and helped fight alongside Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. She often appeared when tracked down by Inuyasha for a fight. Inuyasha would usually lose these fights and she would lecture him for his dehavior afterwards. She traveled with the Inuyasha Team for a few days before being tracked down by hunters, once again causing her to seperate from the hanyo. During the time she spent with the group, however, allowed her to save their relationship and have Inuyasha forgive and understand her reason for leaving. She also develops relationships with Inuyasha's companions, impacting young Shippo the most, who later tells his village of her greatness and refers to her as Kitsune no Taisho. Maru also travels with Sesshomaru fow awhile due to Rin infatuation with her. Maru develops a close relationship with the girl and often visits her throughout the series to play with her and pick flowers with the young human child. Rin comes to see her as an older sister or mother figure and often asks why she doesn't see Sesshomaru. Rin's fantasy of Sesshomaru and Maru almost always ended with Jaken taking his comments to far and having his face rearranged. Maru also ends up having an impact on Jaken being the only other being the imp demon respects. Jaken often calls Maru with the honorific -sama to show his respect for the half demon but never infront of Sesshomaru. He usually insults Maru infront of Sesshomaru but when alone with her he apologizes for his rudeness and shows his respect for her by bowing on his knees and complimenting her. Maru often finds his behavior amusing whether he be insulting her or complimenting her. Sesshomaru's Kindness Two hundred years after the Inuyasha series, Maru is with Totosai at his home forging weapons preparing for her upcoming change on the full moon. Sesshomaru damages his sword around the time she is finishing up her armory, she is rude to him, not having a high opinion of the daiyokai. She leaves once Totosai begins working on the inu yokai's sword. She ends up taking refuge in a cave in the valley next to Totosai's volcano home, while waiting for the hunters to come Sesshomaru appears. Maru insults him in hopes he'd leave and not attract attention to her, however, he sits down at the mouth of the cave outside her barrior like a guard. Maru is confused by his protecting her and stays up the whole night as she normally would, but manages to sleep once her powers return with the demon standing guard. She parts with him when she awakens and begins to travel to a nearby village. She runs into a farmer who is heading to the village, who informs her that Shippo protects the village and has a hanyo child, Kana. He tells her of the many stories and high opinion Shippo has for her and Inuyasha's team. However, Maru is attacked by a warrior sent by her father causing for them to part. She engages in battle with the demon, who knows that she is weak when her powers return to her the day after her night as a human. She runs through the forest trying to out wit the other demon recieving several wounds from the demon until finally stabbing him in a clearing. The warrior confesses that he is in love with her and that Inari has promised him her hand in marriage. He tells her that he would fight for her anyday and in the end tells her he is a greedy man before marking her with a bite mark on her neck and leaves. Once done with the warrior, she heads for a nearby waterfall to clean and medicate her wounds. On the way there, she encounters Sesshomaru who pins her to a tree with his sword through her shoulder and her own blade through her hand when she tries to fight him. He inspects her wounds before releasing her and following her to the waterfall. She cleans her wounds before sitting on a boulder to medicate and bandage the wounds. Sesshomaru helps her bandage all her wounds before taking her along with him to travel back to his castle. On the journey to Sesshomaru's castle, they stop to sleep that night. While Sesshomaru is away, Maru sings a lullaby that she doesn't know the origin of. Sesshomaru comes back while she is singing and asks her to sing again confusing her even more but she does as he asks anyways. The next day, she goes into battle, upon entering the western lands, with a small army of soldiers sent by Inari and is helped by Sesshomaru who fights the warrior who had bite her the day before. After killing all the soldiers she pins the fox demon to the ground with her swords and takes away his blade and carves a message into his back and healing it till it scarred. She also tells him to give her father several other messages before freeing him. The warrior asks for his blade but she tells him he doesn't need before telling him to leave. Personality Her air of aloofness and indifference is a product of dignity that only one of such rare demon power may possess. Maru, however, is a very emotional character and has many sides to her personality. Because both her heart and body are so strong, she had no desire for the Shikon Jewel, but she didn't mind helping Inuyasha in his search for the jewel shards. She has absolute confindence in her power and wished neither to be completely demon nor human, so she had no need for the jewel and doesn't conspire with allies. In battle she judges her enemy's power level and attacks with the minium power necessry, she loses this ability when human and the day after when her powers return. She deals with her enemies after determining their power. Once she has determined their weak point, their attacks are futile. Maru tends to be very kind to anyone who will allow. She doesn't judge by species since she is often judged as a hanyo. She shows motherly aspects towards those younger than herself and occassionally Sesshomaru. She tends to dote on and enjoy playing with children as she shows when often visiting Rin and Shippo to play with them. She is also a very caring person. She shows this aspect when doting on Inuyasha after he has fought with her and regreting stabbing an enemy when he confesses how much he loves her Maru also has a dark side to her. She is somewhat sadistic, coming up with harsh punishments for the soldiers her father sends. She often carves permanant messages into the back's of the soldiers and doesn't mind killing the soldier without even a glance. She tends to show a cold demeanor to her father and the soldiers he sends. She often insults her father due to her deep rooted hatred for him since he threw her away and only wishes her back because of her power. Maru also has a short temper when it comes to Sesshomaru. She finds the demon annoying and doesn't mind insulting him, being rude to him, or even telling him to leave her presence. She also shows this trait when in a weakened state and occassionally to Inuyasha. Maru is very playful. When in battle with a strong demon she won't hesitate to play with her enemy. Also, when insulted by Jaken she will often become amused by his comments instead of being angered. She rarely shows this to Inuyasha, when he insults her she will be very strict with him and punish him, since she is very motherly with him. Powers and Abilities As a hanyo, Maru is overwhelmingly powerful, being a match against any opponent she encounters, even Sesshomaru. She has exhibited senses much more powerful than that of any human or demon and a plethora of powerful techniques at her disposal. Many of Maru's innate abilities origin's are unknown but believed to have come from her lineage. Attacks *'Dokkasō '(毒華爪, Toxic Luster Claw): Like Sesshōmaru, Maru's claws release deadly acidic poison which can melt or rot flesh and virtually anything else very quickly and he can also spray the poison from her claws. They can fire large blades of energy. She is also shown to transfer poison into his punches. Powers *'Flight': Maru has the ability to float in the sky;by riding on a sparkling dust cloud. The method of flight enables her to bring others along with her while flying by riding the cloud along with her. *'Immunity': Maru is immune to diseases, poisons, and gases that can paralyze or kill humans and animals, as well as weaker yōkai. Her greatest resistance seems to be toward holy and divine powers; her resistance to purification powers was so strong that she was able to enter Mt. Hakurei's purification barrier without being purified. She was somewhat weakened, however, though not significantly so, and it negated her weapons's powers. Monks who try to purify her are totally ineffective. Another example of her strong body is seen in Naraku's inability to absorb her. Because of Maru's demonic purity, her aura emanates around her body in perfect "completion", making it almost impossible to compromise. Inuyasha states that human attacks will not harm Maru, and true to this, none ever have. *'Super Endurance': Maru is able to resist pain better than most demons, including Sesshōmaru. Maru has shown general fatigue when her powers are diminished during the day after her transformation. *'Super Speed': Maru can move faster than the eye can see, both on land and through the air. She leaves behind a fast-moving blur and in some cases, after-images.She can also instantaneously close long distances without being detected by others. She is capable of moving so fast that she can decapitate an entire army of samurai without them even having time to react. *'Super Strength': Maru possesses physical strength far beyond that of a normal demon. Also, Maru is often seen carrying the the large heads of multiple demons in one hand with little to no effort by Totosai almost every month.She has Herculean strength, she is capable of lifting just as much as Sesshōmaru. *'Senses': Due to her lineage, Maru exhibits extremely heightened senses, particularly her sense of smell and hearing. She can discern characteristics of most objects through scent. Through smell alone, Maru can follow events transpiring far away or which have already transpired; for example, she learned of everything that had happened during Sesshomaru's confrontation with Inuyasha by simply sniffing the area in which they fought at least several hours, if not days, after the battle. Besides the five basic senses, Sesshōmaru's ability in sensing other's auras are exceptional. *'Exceptional Reflexes': Maru, with her heightened senses, also possesses astonishing reflexes, as shown when she fights Jakotsu; she managed to deflect the latter snake-like sword at the very last second with her sword and even hurl it back in front of Jakotsu himself. Maru has also shown to have extremely fast reactions when she was surrounded by an army of demons with rifle guns which she was able to deflect every bullet shot at her simultaneously at the men firing them. *'Intelligence': Maru shows her intelligence often when battling with Sesshomaru and soldiers sent by her father. When she is faced with a powerful demon at her weakest point she it capable of outsmarting the demon and winning the battle that way. *'Teleportation': Maru can morph into a ball of energy and move herself, as well as others,over great distances in a short amount of time. *'Psionics': Though Maru's psionic capabilities have never been specifically quantified, she has demonstrated exceptionally strong and powerful feats of both telepathy and telekinesis. Examples being her ability to levitate and toss boulders at her enemies through telekinesis, and the ability to telepathically overcome So'unga's telepathic aura. *'Immortality': Being a hanyo, Maru does not suffer from old age the way humans do. She appears to be around 16 to 17 years old. However, she has been around for at least over seven hundred years. *'Regeneration': During a fight with Sesshomaru, Maru's arm was severed but regenerated immediately. Maru's body is in a continuous state of regeneration. Maru was impaled during a scruff with Inu no Taisho, also, but was still able to recover instantly. *'Yoki Release': Her Yoki is able to completely overtake and suppress a sword's demonic aura with little effort, even when the demon sword smith Tōtōsai said that it is impossible. This has led many to speculate that this is the reason the demon sword Sō’unga was given to her. *'Hand to Hand Combatant': Although rarely engaging in barehanded combat, Maru demonstrated highly capable skill in it. During various scuffles with Inuyasha, Maru was able to easily counter Inuyasha's wild strikes and find an opening to quickly pummel him. *'Swordsmanship': Even with swords new to her possession, Maru is able to quickly adept to their unique shape and powers to effectively use them in battle. In melee combat, she showed superb skill in his ability to fend off and strike down opponents with deadly speed and accuracy in her attacks. She is also able to effectively block projectiles with his blade. *'Healing Abilities': Maru exhibits powerful healing abilities and knowledge. Her knowledge being shown when looking for medical herbs while caring for an injured demon, finding the herbs easily and knowing the exact use of each. She also can regenerate not only her own body parts but also others. Totosai also tells of her ability to bring back the dead. This ability seems to tie the person to her life but also a jewel she possesses. *'Fox Magic': Maru holds the power that most kitsune yokai, including her father Inari, wish to have. She is capable of shape shifting not only herself but almost anything, she can also create a number of objects with her magic. Her most commonly used magic is summoning her weapons from her scroll, but she is also capable of summoning beings she has a connection with as she does once with Inuyasha after attaching one of her leaves to his clothing. *''' Potions and Poisons': Maru also had great knowledge of creating a number of poisons and potions. She occassionally is employed by the rich to heal uncurable diseases and to create poisons for war weapons. *'Purification': Maru is capable of purifying evil or demonic objects and people. This is a unique power she has due to her demonic blood, it is speculated since she has this power she is not effected by pure objects or purification preformed on her. *'Voice': Maru has a unique voice that seduces and sounds sweet to anyone. She uses this by singing, which can do a number of things to her enemies such as killing them, putting them to sleep, or seducing them to do her bidding. Weapons Maru holds many weapons which hold imense power but she rarely uses these weapons unless completely neccesary. She rarely has a neccessity for these weapons but she is somewhat of a collector. So'unga Main article: Sō’unga Also called the Sword of Hell, the Sō'unga is a demon sword that the great dog daiyōkai possessed and contained. It has the ability to control the dead and open a gate to hell. Inu no Taishō's hope was that one day his sons would be able to find the answer to sealing Sō'unga for good. Banryu Main article: Banryu An incredible large halberd rivaling the strength and size of Inuyasha's Tessaiga. Its blade resembles that of a large double edged sword. Its pommel has a large, crescent moon like design. Due to its size Bankotsu is the only known human to wield it effortlessly as it took at least three men to haul it around. Even so, it has its limits as it was damaged by Inuyasha's Wind Scar. However, after being obtained by Maru it has been repaired to its full glory. Jakotsutō Main article: Jakotsutō The Jakotsutō is a broad sword made up of at least 50 chain-linked blades held together at each end by pins. When deployed or swung, these blades zig-zagg back and forth as they moved forward, resembling the movements of a snake moving in for the strike, which is why its name translated as Snake Skill/Bone Sword. Shintamashi Shintamshi (真魂, "''Pure Soul") is a small dagger when sealed, and may be more powerful than Tenseiga. It is capable of regenerating limbs, healing wounds, and bringing back the dead. It also has purification powers and purifies anything it cuts. Attached to its hilt are two marble-sized jewels, The Jewels of Purification and Life (精製と生命の宝石,Seisei to Seimei no Hōseki ), these two jewels have emince power and add to the swords already amazing power. Unique Items Reikon no Hōseki Reikon no Hoseki (霊魂の珠, "Jewel of Souls")is a baseball-sized jewel that Maru had created by the son of Hōsenki to store a portion of her powers in. The jewel it meant to protect those who depend on her power when she changes into a human. The jewel can also provide the one possessing it great demonic powers, though it has no effect on Maru while she is human. The jewel has an invisible barrior around it with acts like a second skin to the jewel so only Maru is capable of holding it. Shīringu no Jueru Shiringu no Jueru (シーリングのジュエル, "Jewel of Sealing") is a jewel that is attached to Maru's summoning scroll. The jewel is believed to protect the scroll from being opened by others beside Maru. It also strengthens the summoning powers of its holder, but it seems to have no effect on Maru. Ryū no Kubi no Tama Ryu no Kubi no Tama (竜の首の珠, "Jewel of the Dragon's Neck") is a strange metal sphere with an exposed, yellow, glowing core. The jewel was found by Kanna in the basin of a shallow stream, surrounded by large bones, possibly belonging to a dragon. It signifies the element metal and is represented on Kaguya's seal by the color yellow. It was cast into Lake Yamanaka with the verse: "Oh arrow of mine with power pure and immense to slay the dragon, do your good deed fast and swift; grasp the crystal in its neck." Maru later retrieves it, interested in the sphere no reason in particular. Tsubame no Unda Koyasu Kai Tsubame no Unda Koyasu Kai (燕の産んだ子安貝, "Swallow's Cowrie Shell") is a necklace made with a swallow's cowrie shell: a special shell that is said to be a charm used by a swallow when giving birth. It signifies the element water and is represented on Kaguya's seal by the color blue. As it was tossed into Lake Sai, Kanna recited the following words: "Time has passed swiftly as I've waited to see the shell you promised: they say I wait in vain, could this be so?" Maru also retrieves this necklace to go along with the metal dragon stone she obtained. Meidō Stone Main article: Meidō Stone An exact replica of the stone Sesshomaru's mother has. Is the only other Meidō Stone in the universe. It is unknown how Maru obtained the stone. Denryoku no Tama Denryoku no Tama (電力の珠, "Jewel of Power") is a jewel in which a portion of Maru's power is stored. She uses the jewel if she needs to use her demonic swords while she is human. She has never needed the jewel before. She wears the jewel on a chain made of tiny demon bones which connects to the top of the marble-sized pink sphere. Category:Character Category:Hanyo Category:Females